Another wave of people removing glasses appears in summer! Is myopia surgery a permanent solution? Can everyone have it?

The latest data from the Ministry of Education shows that in recent years, the overall myopia rate in my country has shown a clear upward trend, reaching 33%, which is 1.5 times the world average. It is particularly noteworthy that myopia has become a major public health problem affecting children and adolescents. A special survey conducted in 2020 showed that the overall myopia rate among children and adolescents in my country has reached 52.7%, of which about 35.6% in primary school and as high as 80.5% in high school.

Another wave of people removing their glasses appears in summer vacation

More than 80% of high school students are myopic, and many of them choose to undergo myopia surgery after the college entrance examination, so there is a wave of "glasses removal" every summer vacation. The reporter learned from Beijing Tongren Hospital, which specializes in ophthalmology, that the number of myopia surgeries in the hospital has increased by 30% recently, with an average of nearly 100 surgeries per day, and nearly 60% of the patients are high school students and college students who have just finished the college entrance examination.

How many types of myopia surgery are there? What are the differences?

What are the most common myopia surgeries currently? Experts tell us that myopia surgeries are roughly divided into two categories based on different surgical methods.

One type is corneal laser surgery, such as full femtosecond myopia surgery, half femtosecond myopia surgery, etc., which uses femtosecond laser or excimer laser to cut part of the corneal tissue to achieve the purpose of correcting myopia. Here we also need to popularize the concept of femtosecond. The so-called femtosecond is a very small unit of time. How small is it? 1 femtosecond is equal to 1 quadrillionth of a second. And femtosecond laser is a kind of laser emitted in the form of pulses, which lasts only a few femtoseconds.

The other type is lens implantation surgery, which involves implanting a lens into the eye through minimally invasive surgery, just like implanting a pair of contact lenses in the eye.

What is femtosecond laser surgery? What are its characteristics?

Qi Ying, chief physician of the Refractive Correction Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital: The characteristics of this femtosecond laser are that it takes a short time and its effect is concentrated in a very concentrated space. So it is accurate and does not damage the surrounding tissues, so this is its advantage. In the past, corneal flaps were made with a rotating knife, so sometimes the patient may be nervous, not cooperate well, or the blade quality is problematic, which may cause some complications. Femtosecond laser is a new technology. It is used to make corneal flaps with higher accuracy and higher safety factor. Another thing is that it can be personalized. We can choose different parameters according to the patient's eye conditions, such as corneal thickness and corneal refractive index. It is more humane and safer.

Is myopia surgery suitable for everyone?

In my country, myopia surgery has been used clinically for many years and is a relatively mature technology, but can everyone take off their glasses in this way? In what cases is myopia surgery not suitable?

Medical staff remind that myopia surgery has strict contraindications, including unstable refractive power, suspected or clear keratoconus, acute eye inflammation, and severe retinal diseases. People with diseases that affect corneal wound healing, such as severe scar constitution, diabetes, lupus erythematosus and other connective tissue diseases, are not suitable for myopia surgery.

Qi Ying, chief physician of the Refractive Correction Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital: You cannot have some diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, you cannot have serious acute symptoms that affect your vision, or some retinal lesions. You also need to have a comprehensive eye examination, a systematic examination, and the corneal thickness and (corneal) topography must meet the surgical standards before you can have myopia surgery.

Why is there an age range for myopia surgery between 18 and 50 years old?

Every summer, many people who have finished the college entrance examination go for myopia surgery. Why do they focus on this time? Because the minimum age requirement for myopia surgery is 18 years old, and there is also an upper age limit. If the physical conditions meet the requirements, why should there be an age limit for myopia surgery?

Qi Ying, chief physician of the Refractive Correction Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital: In fact, we basically set the age limit for myopia surgery between 18 and 50 years old. Some experts have now expanded the upper age limit because everyone is relatively young now and pays attention to beauty and exercise. So there may be some elderly people over 50 who still need to remove their glasses. They can also do it, so the age limit is a bit relaxed. The reason why we set it to 50 years old before is because everyone knows that after 50 years old, the eyes will soon be astigmatism, and it will be difficult to see close distances clearly. If the myopia is removed, the astigmatism will be aggravated or advanced, so you may have to wear glasses immediately, so we set it to this age. People under 18 years old are in the period of physical development, and the degree of children is not very stable, so this time is set.

Can myopia surgery solve myopia problem once and for all?

One operation can take off the glasses, so myopia is not scary at all, just have the operation. I believe many people have this idea. Will myopia never return after myopia surgery? Is there a possibility of rebound? Can myopia surgery really solve our eye diseases once and for all?

Qi Ying, chief physician of the Refractive Correction Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital: Myopia surgery is not a permanent solution. We still need to remind everyone that our surgery is just to help you take off your glasses, not a radical treatment. So some patients, such as those with high myopia or those who may have pathological myopia, will still have complications of the fundus after surgery, such as retinal degeneration, holes, and macular hemorrhage. Therefore, we generally recommend that patients who have undergone surgery come for follow-up every three months, six months, and one year. The purpose of the follow-up is to check whether the degree of myopia has regressed, and whether there are complications such as keratoconus. The most important thing is to check the fundus to see if there is any degeneration of the fundus. It does not mean that the fundus will no longer have lesions after myopia correction. Timely discovery and early treatment will prevent more serious complications.

How to avoid vision regression after myopia surgery?

After myopia surgery, how can I protect my eyes and avoid vision loss?

Qi Ying, chief physician of the Refractive Correction Center of Beijing Tongren Hospital: Generally, the first week after myopia surgery, water should not enter the eyes. If some dirty water enters, it will cause eye infection. Because the wound is not closed, water cannot enter. Another thing is the use of eyes. In fact, most patients have a visual acuity of 1.0 or 1.2 on the first day after surgery, which is normal, but we still do not recommend that they use their eyes too early at close range, such as looking at mobile phones, iPads, and computers. One reason is that the eyes will be a little dry and astringent after surgery, and it will be uncomfortable if you use your eyes too early; another reason is that although the distance vision is better, sometimes it will be a little blurry when looking at close objects. You have to use your eyes hard to see, one is that you are prone to fatigue, and the other is that the degree may regress. Therefore, within a week, we do not recommend excessive close-range eye use.

(CCTV reporter Li Bin and Kong Bingbing)

Source: CCTV News Client

Editor in charge: Lu Kaili